Derbyshire council rejects residents' allegations of secret deal over Traveller site

The council has yet to meet a legal obligation which required it to provide six pitches in the district by 2019 – rising to seven in 2024 and nine by 2034 – despite years of declared searches for suitable land, often met with hostility from communities around potential sites.

Having ruled out 133 publicly-owned possibilities last year, the authority appealed for proposals from private owners with land available to sell or lease. A report on those proposals was due to be presented at a council meeting on January 26, but the working group responsible failed to deliver.

In the meantime, a Traveller family – to whom the council has separate obligations under homelessness laws – are being indefinitely permitted to stay in the station car park at Matlock Bath.

Now it seems that residents in the parish of Callow, near Carsington Water, have got wind that one such site is being considered in their neighbourhood, and believe the council will try to force the decision upon them.

A statement released by residents group Hasker Farm Committee said: “It has come to our attention that Derbyshire Dales Council are proposing to create a permanent site for travellers at the land at the bottom of the drive to Hasker Farm, Stainsborough Lane, Callow, Kirk Ireton.“The council are wanting to relocate the Travellers currently residing in Matlock Bath to this green field site, and have been secretly assessing it and making pre-planning applications since July 2022, with a lease/sale agreement being signed this week.”

They added: “Residents of Hasker Farm, Callow and the local area are deeply in opposition of the proposed site, and feel betrayed by the council for not consulting local residents prior to conducting pre-planning meetings and signing lease/sale agreements.”

However, the council has flatly rejected the allegation that a deal had already been struck for the site, and insisted that any exploratory work done so far is simply part of the process being applied to all of the land proposals which it has received.

A spokesperson said: “We recognise and understand that there are concerns from individuals and the local community collectively in respect of any proposals to develop a permanent Traveller site. We are committed to consulting with those people and communities as well as with the specific Traveller families to whom we have a statutory homelessness duty.

“At the present time no agreement has been reached with the landowner in respect of the purchase or lease of the site and this remains subject to confidential negotiation between the council and the landowner.”

They added: “We are however carrying out our commitment to check if this site meets our stated requirements, while developing detailed designs for the site and undertaking all relevant searches.

“We remain committed to undertaking consultation on the proposals and any and all interested parties or stakeholders will be able to have their say and make their views known to us.”

The residents have set out specific objections relating to the 1.6 acre site, questioning whether it meets the council’s own list of requirements for transport access, visibility, local amenities and the necessary infrastructure for habitation.

The statement said: “The land at the bottom of Hasker Farm drive meets fewer of the desired criteria than many of these sites already dismissed by the council, so it is staggering that it is still being considered.

“It is only being considered because the council are desperate, and willing to ignore their own criteria.”

Residents are under the impression that plans have been drawn up for four pitches and four buildings on the site, at a cost of £400,000 – leaving the district still in need of three more in the next 12 months – though the council spokesperson declined to address such specific claims.

Any decision on whether to proceed with the Callow site is now likely to be taken at a council meeting on Thursday, March 16.

While there have been previous suggestions that councillors would be presented with detailed feedback on any possible options, it is not clear whether offers have been received from any other landowner.

The authority’s spokesperson said a report would be published shortly before the meeting, and declined to discuss its contents before release.

They added: “No action will be taken to develop a permanent Traveller site until that meeting makes a decision. The report to the meeting will set out the consultation processes.

“If councillors agree this site should be taken forward, a planning application will need to be submitted for assessment by a Planning Officer who will make an impartial and independent recommendation based on their professional expertise to the Planning Committee, which will be required to determine the application before any further action can be taken.

“All interested parties and stakeholders will be able to respond to the statutory consultation in respect of any future planning application and there will be opportunities to address the Planning Committee directly in line with our procedures that encourage public participation.

“Following determination of the planning application – either way – council will need to make a decision on how to proceed and again there will be an opportunity for interested parties and stakeholders to submit their views.”

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